Coin-controlled gasometer.



No. 650,506. Patented May 29, I900. J. GRIBBEL.

COIN CONTROLLED GASOMETER.

(Application filed Feb. 13, 1900.)

(n6 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

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No. 650,506. Patented May 29, 1900. J. GRIBBEL.

COIN CONTROLLED GASOMETER.

(Application filed Feb. 13, 1900.)

2 Sheots$haot 2.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES,

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JOHN GRIBBEL, OF WYNOOTE, PENNSYLVANIA.

COIN-CONTROLLED GASOMETER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Learsratene No. 650,506, dated May 29,1900.

Application filed February 13, 1900. Serial No. 5,038. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern: Be it known that I, JOHN GRIBBEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wyncote,v

in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Prepayment Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates generally to apparatus designed to contain or control a supply of vendible material, and arranged, upon the deposit upon or in adjacency to certain parts of its mechanism, ofa coin of predetermined dimensions, to permit the delivery or release of a given quantity thereof,and relates especially to apparatus of the foregoing character when constructed to operate in connection with fluids such as gas.

My present improvements relate to the valve controlling mechanism of prepayment gas motors, and especially to a particular type of such mechanism set forth and illustrated in Letters Patent No. 569,1, granted October 6th, 1896, upon the application of John Delaney, reference to which patent is to be had for a more thorough understanding of the art.

In the accompanying drawings I show, and heroin I describe, a good form of a convenient embodiment of my invention, the particular subject matter claimed as novel being hereinafter definitely specified.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a meter equipped with my improvements, the top or cover of the meter being supposed removed to exhibit the arrangement of the mechanism in the interior of the same.

' Figure 2 is a View in s'ide'elevation of the valve controlling mechanism to which my improvements especially relate.

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the follower gear and associated parts.

Figure at is a view in end elevation of the parts shown in Figure 2, the pinion bar being in section on the dotted line 44 of said Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a transverse section of the parts shown in Figure 2, section being supposed on the dotted line 5-5, in said figure, the follower gear being supposed brought to a position to be on said dotted line. Similar figu res of reference indicate corresponding parts. In the accompanying drawings, A, Figure rock arm 12.

and rock arm, with relation to the valve, is.

and rotatable about it.

1, indicates the casing of a gas meter of any usual form, provided 'withthe inlet pipe or opening 'a and the outlet opening a.

a is a valve casing mounted within the interior of the meter easing, into which the inlet: pipe at discharges and from which the gas passes to the measuring contrivances, of usual construction, in the body of the meter casing,

the arrangement being such that all gas pass ing through the meter, as a whole, passes first through said valve casing and through a valve port disposed within the same.

A valve a of any preferred construction, mounted in the valve casing, controls said valve port. Said valve is provided with a valve stem B, connected to which is a slotted The arrangement of the stem such that when the body of said arm is in a horizontal position, the valve is open and the gas is free to enter and pass through the body of the meter, while when said arm is depressed, the valve is forced to its seat and the inflow of gas from the valve casing to the meter is stopped. V

C, Figure 1, is a valve plate upwardly from which extends the spindle C, operated to 1'0- tation by the link arms 0 C the outer extremities of which are connected to rocking studs 0 C connected with the diaphragms,

or operative parts, in the interior of the meter in the usual manner. The inner extremities of said link arms are united to a crank or arm 0, connected with said spindle C, A worm mounted upon said spindle C, engages in a worm wheel Don the main arbor D of the dial mechanism, and, in the operation of the meter occasions the rotation of said arbor. The outer extremity of said arbor is operatively connected in the usual manner with a dial hand adapted to register the total of gas consumed regardless of the operation of the special mechanism hereinafter described, said dial itself andsaid hand (not shown) being contained within andprotected by theusual dial casing'B E is a screw threaded shaft, shown particularly in Figure 2, mounted free for rotation, but held against longitudinal movement, in a pair of supporting plates E, E erected and secured in any desired manner in the upper portion of the meter,said shaft being provided with a prolongation, E as shown,- which extends through the meter casing to the interior of the lock casing (omitted from Figure 2, but shown in Figure 1) where it is equipped with a driven pinion E.

e are a pair of guide rods connective of the upper portions of the supporting plates E, E

F is what I term the follower gear wheel, provided with a threaded bore, and mounted upon and in threaded engagement with the shaft E. A hubfof said wheel is provided vw with a circumferential re f in Figure 3.

The rods 6, e, therefore, maintain said yoke in a horizontal position notwithstanding the rotation of the gear which carries it.

Manifestly as the follower gear F rotates it will travel along the shaft, carrying with it the yoke Gr, said yoke, of course, participating freely and without binding in the longitudinal movement of the follower gear, but not participating in its rotative movement.

H is what I term a pinion bar, or elongated pinion, supported, in parallelism with the shaft E, in such position that its teeth are normally in registry with the teeth of the follower gear, a pinion 71. permanently mounted 011 the distant end of said pinion, being in constant mesh with a worm D", carried by the main arbor D.

A finger g on the end of the follower yoke is engaged in the slot of the rock arm I). The other end of the yoke carries a horizontally disposed rack i1, engaged with a gear j, mounted upon the inner end of an arbor, J, the outer end of which projects to the exterior of the main casing A and terminates within a dial box K. I

The end of said arbor J is assumed to be provided with a hand adapted to travel across a graduated dial plate contained within the dial box K.

' M. is a leaf, or buffer, spring, arranged beneath what I term the exhaust end of the screw shaft E, for a purpose hereinafter set forth. Conveniently said spring is mounted upon a brace rod on affixed at its respective extremities to the basal portions of the respective plates E, E

j N, Figure 2, is a stop bar projecting from the follower yoke and adapted to register with, and in some positions of the yoke extend through, a corresponding opening formed in the plate E.

P, Figure 4, is a stop arm mounted upon the distant end, as I term it, of the screw shaft E, and revolving with it, and adapted, when the follower gear and yoke have traveled so close to the plate E that the stop bar N projects through its opening therein-to encounert said projecting bar N.

The projection of the bar N in the path of the stop arm, of course, prevents further rotation of the shaft E in the direction which occasions the travel of the follower gear toward the plate E, and thus limits the outward movement of the follower gear and yoke, occasioned by the rotation of the shaft E.

Q is a coin lock casing, mounted upon the exterior of the meter casing, as shown in Figure 1, and provided with the usual coin slot, q, and operating handle Q.

The coin lock mechanism per forms no part of the present invention, and any suitable devices operative for the purpose may be employed; suffice to say, that upon the insertion of a coin of predetermined value within the slot, said coin operates to temporarily fix in given relation the parts of the look, so that rotation imparted to the handle Q, oecasions the rotation of a gear wheel connected with the inner portions of the lock which gear is directly or through intermediate wheels in mesh with the gear E, shown in Figure 2.

The normal position of the parts may be assumed to be that in which the gear F is at the exhaust end of the screw shaft E, with the pin or finger g carried by the follower yoke engaged in the curved end of the slot of the rock arm I), maintaining said arm in its deflected position and consequently the valve port in the valve easing a closed.

Then, then, a coin is inserted as described and the handle Q, rotated, the gear E and the screw shaft E are caused to rotate in consonance therewith. The rotation of the screw shaft occasions the travel of the gear and yoke toward the distant end of the screw shaft a distance corresponding to the rotation imparted to the rotating handle. In such rotation of the screw shaft the gearis held against rotation by its engagement with the teeth of the. pinion bar, its teeth sliding along the teeth of said bar,-the bar itself is of course held against rotation, when the screw shaft E is rotated, by its engagement with the worm D The fingerg of the yoke in such travel passes along the straight part of the slot of the rock arm I), forcing said arm into horizontal position, with the result that the valve in the valve casing a is thrown and maintained open. Ineidentally, also, the dial hand on the spindle J, will be set to a position indicating the distance the follower gear, must travel to reach the exhaust end of the shaft E, stated, for the benefit or information of the consumer, in terms expressing the amount of gas paid for and to be delivered before another payment is necessary.

The valve in the valve easing a being open, gas is free to pass through the meter for consumption, and in so passing occasions the op eration of the main arborD,and consequently of the pinion bar and the gear F. The rotation of said gear causes its travel along the for the time being non-rotating shaft E and toward its exhaust end.

As the gear F reaches a given point in proximity to said exhaust end, the finger g enters the curved end of the slot in the arm I) and deflects said arm to the position in which the valve a in the casing a is closed. Incidentally in such travel of the yoke F the rack 1' causes the rotation of the wheel j and spindle J, and of course a corresponding movement of the dial hand in the dial box K.

Then the gear F and yoke G have reached a point in proximity to the exhaust end of the screw shaft E, the valve in the valve casing a will be brought to closed position.

It has frequently happened, however,iu the use of apparatus of this kind, that by reason of the valve not being seated tightly upon its seat in the casing a gas from the inlet pipe continues to pass in small quantities into the meter and from time to time to occasion movements of the mechanism thereof, and consequently the further rotation of the pinion bar H and gear F, with theresult, said parts being positive in their engagements, that,after the gear F has made contact with the plate E and is unable to travel farther longitudinally of the shaft E,one or the other of the parts has under the strain broken so that the meter has become useless.

In my improved construction I taper the inner end of the pinion bar conveniently in the manner shown in the drawings, with the result that, when the follower gear comes to such position at the exhaust end of the screw shaft and near to the plate E that the valve in the valve casing (0 will in the normal operation of the parts he closed by the throw of the rock arm I) by the finger g, the teeth of said follower gear are close to the reduced end portion of the pinion bar I-I. Thereupon, in any further action of the moving parts of the meter, due to the fact that the valve a has not closed tightly at the proper tim e,with the result that the gas continues to pass through it,rotation of the pinion bar H, occasioning rotation of the gear F and consequent longitudinal travel of said gear, will carry said gear quite close to the plate E and opposite to the reduced end of the pinion bar H and out of engagement with the teeth of the latter; consequently any further rotation of said pinion bar will be idle and not accompanied by jamming or breakage of the parts.

The tapered ends of the teeth of the pinion bar II are slightly inclined or beveled, as shown in Figure 1., so that after the follower gear F has passed to a position opposite to the reduced end of the said pinion and out of engagement with said teeth, said gear will, when the rotatable handle Q is turned and said gear begins to travel back to the distant point of the screw E, if its teeth are not in alinement with the spaces between the teeth of the pinion bar, encounter as to its teeth, the beveled ends of the teeth of the pinion bar and be thereby guided into registry or mesh with the teeth of the pinion bar.

The stop bar N and stop plate P of course prevent the follower gear and yoke from beof engagement with the teeth of the said pinion bar, the periphery of said gear bears against the buffer spring M, slightly depressingit,and said springbearingagainst saidgear holds said gear against rotation. Were it not for said spring, the gear, after it has passed out of engagement with the pinion bar, would, when the wheel E and shaft E are rotated to carry the gear to the distant end of the shaft E,-simply rotate idly with the shaft, remaining in the same position with respect to the plate E The spring holds the gear against rotating with the shaft E, when said gear is out of engagement with the teeth of the bar II,-and consequently when the shaft E is rotated the gear is caused to travel back into engagement with the pinion bar.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patcnt 1. In a coin controlled sale and delivery apparatus for fluids, devices adapted to enable the withdrawal of the fluid in predetermined quantity, a valve controlling the flow of the fluid, valve closing mechanism automat-icall y operated by the passage of the fluid, including a pinion bar and a gear in mesh with said pinion bar and adapted to rotate in unison with it and to travelalong it, said bar being provided with a reduced area which is reached by the gear in its travel if the valve closing movement is ineffective, substantially as set forth.

2. In a coin controlled sale and delivery-apparatus for fluids, devices adapted to enable the withdrawal of fluids in prearranged quantity, mechanism automatically operated by the passage of the fluid to close the apparatus against the exit of more than the pre-arranged quantity, including two members, which when the fluid continues to flow after the closing movement of the parts become antomatically disengaged, substantially as set forth.

3. Ina coin controlled sale and delivery mechanism for fluids, in combination, a screw shaft, a follower gear mounted on said shaft, a guide mounted in parallelism with said shaft, a follower yoke structurally independent of the gear but mounted as a saddle on said gear, and also structurally independent of the guiding device, but guided by said shaft, a follower gear mounted on said shaft and having a circumferential recess, a pair of guide bars mounted in parallelism with said shaft, a follower yoke, the body of which rests in the recess of the said follower gear, and the extremities of which extend beneath the respective guide bars, an elongated pinion bar in mesh with said follower gear, mechanism connective of said pinion bar and a moving part of the meter, a valve controlling arm and a connection between said follower yoke and said arm, substantially as set forth.

5. In a coin controlled sale and delivery mechanism for fluids, in combination, a screw shaft, a follower gear mounted on said shaft and having a hubembodying a circumferential recess, a pair of guide bars mounted in parallelism with said shaft, a follower yoke carried in therecess of the hub of the follower gear, a pinion bar in mesh with said follower gear, mechanism connective of said pinion bar and a moving part of the meter, a slotted valve controlling arm, and a finger carried by the follower yoke engaged in the slot of said'arm, substantially as set forth.

6. In a coin controlled sale and delivery mechanism for fluids, in combination, a screw shaft, a follower gear mounted on said shaft, and having a laterally extending hub, guide bars mounted in parallelism with said shaft, a follower yoke structurally independent of the follower gear but mounted as a saddle on the hub of said gear, said yoke and hub being held in operative relation by means of a transversely extending groove or recess formed in one into which recess the other projects, said follower yoke being also structurally independent of the guide bars but extending transversely past them, a pinion bar in mesh with said follower gear, mechanism connective of said pinion bar and a moving part of the sale and delivery mechanism, a valve controlling arm, and a connection between said follower yoke and said arm, substantially as set forth.

7. In a coin controlled sale and delivery mechanism for fluids, in combination, a meter, a valve and valve controlling devices, in-

pass out of engagement with the teeth of the member with which it is in mesh with the follower and gear reach a point near the exhaust mechanism for fluids, in combination, a screw shaft, a follower gear, a follower yoke, anda pinion bar in mesh with said gear and having at one end teeth of diminished height, substantially as set forth.

9. In a coin controlled sale and delivery mechanism for fluids, in combination, sup porting plates, a screw shaft, a follower gear, a follower yoke, a pinion barhaving a reduced end of tapered outline, means for rotating the pinion bar, and means for rotating the screw shaft, substantially as set forth.

10. In a coin controlled sale and delivery mechanism for fluids, in combination, a screw shaft, a follower gear, a follower yoke, a pinion bar having a reduced end of tapered out line, the teeth of which at their reduced ends have inclined faces, means for rotating the pinion bar, and means for rotating the screw shaft, substantially as set forth.

11. In a coin controlled sale and delivery mechanism for fluids, in combination, a screw shaft, a follower gear, a follower yoke, a pinion bar having teeth of diminishing height at one end, a bu fferspring arranged in adjacency to the diminished portions of the teeth of the pinion bar and adapted to bear against the follower gear, substantially as set forth.

12. In combination, the meter having an inlet controlled by a valve, a valve arm connected to said valve, a pinion bar rotated by the operation of the ordinary moving parts of the meter and having an end or portion of reduced diameter, a screw shaft, a follower gear on said shaft and normally engaged with said pinion bar, a follower yoke engaged with the valve arm, and means for manually rotating said screw shaft, substantially as set forth.

13. In combination, the meter having an inlet controlled by a valve, a valve arm connected to said valve, a pinion bar rotated by the operation of the ordinary moving parts of the meter and having an end or portion of reduced diameter, a screw shaft, a follower gear on said shaft and normally engaged with said pinion bar, a follower yoke engaged with the valve arm, and a buffer spring in the vicinity of the reduced diameter of the pinion bar, substantially asset forth.

14. In a prepayment sale and delivery apparatus, in combination with the screw shaft,

IIO 

